The Ladies of ’65 had their October get-together at Alfonzo’s in Troy yesterday, and here are the photos to prove it – compliments of Joyce Weber Ackerman. If you’d like to join with them next month, just contact Joyce and she’ll provide all the details.
[dropcap]There[/dropcap] may have been times when I have misspelled your name, forgotten your spouse’s name, or made other errors that, on a personal basis, have seemed terribly negligent, irresponsible, or unprofessional. If I have made those types of errors on ANY of your information that is displayed in these pages, please forgive me, and please let me know of the error so that it can be corrected.
I make every attempt to get things right, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. I am not a professional web designer, nor have I ever had any training in typing or page-layout. I am a retired US Army Infantryman who types with one finger from each hand, and I make errors on a regular basis. I also live a good distance from Collinsville, and have very limited opportunities to socialize or do the things that would improve the accuracy of my memory. I do not intend to hurt any feelings or cause anyone to be upset. My intention is to make this site a welcome place for each of you to visit for current information, and for you to enjoy the memories that these pages hopefully recall.
If I have made errors, please let me know. And please know that any errors were unintentional, and are deeply regretted.
The video shown at our 50th Reunion in September – with a few additions. You can watch the video here, or you can download the video to your own computer. Our thanks to Dick Chamberlain for putting this together. CAUTION – This is a LARGE file at 285 MB. You can download the video file if you desire.
You may also download individual photos used in the slideshow.
NOTE: Problems have been reported concerning playback with Android 5.1 devices. If you experience such a problem, go directly to youtube to view the video.
[dropcap]Over[/dropcap] 50 years ago, the Class of 1965 bid farewell to Collinsville High School and began scattering throughout the world as we began our adult lives. But it has been easy to remember the life-long friendships that we formed at CHS, the dances at the Tepee, cheering for the victorious Kahoks in the gymnasium, the football bowl and other sporting events, and so many other activities. During those few short years at CHS we developed a special bond as a class – a bond that would bring us back together again and again as the years flowed by; to gather and remember our carefree days in class and around town.
On behalf of all of the Reunion Committee, we thank each and every one of you who joined us in Collinsville to celebrate those friendships and memories. It was your active participation that made our reunion a resounding success. The smiling faces and tearful hugs that adorned the Doubletree Saturday night will be remembered with more smiles and tears in years to come.
A special thanks is also extended to the spouses and significant others of our classmates – you have become an essential part of our extended class family. Your support and participation is very much appreciated, as I’m sure your spouses have already expressed to you.
The ladies who kicked everything off on Friday at their luncheon set the stage for each success that followed. The Golf outing brought our sports enthusiasts together for some fantastic fun. Our celebration at the Tepee was absolutely great, with dancing, refreshments, and blasts from the past. The visit to the Collinsville Museum and Miners Theater that followed opened eyes not only for those returning to town after many years, but also to life-long residents of Collinsville. Those activities established the mood for the tremendous gathering that came later in the evening at the Doubletree.
And to those who had planned to attend but were faced with life situations that prevented it – we thank you too, and wish circumstances would have allowed you to be here with us. In reality, you were with us in spirit. We had a heck of a time!
Thank you all for so many memories, smiles and tears. YOU have made it all worthwhile.
Classmate Steve Gauen presented a tribute to the 1965 Kahok basketball champions back in January at the Fletcher Gymnasium on January 10th, 2015. This was his address –
Celebration of the 1965 Basketball Championship
Fletcher Gymnasium – January 10, 2015
I would like to recognize the following people, first our cheerleaders:
Lynn Ackermann Kris Kaiser
Dianne Bloomer Judy Roschke
Diane DeMoro Jane Ulkus
Barb Fowler
Second, our team managers:
Tom Noascono
Rich Lyons
Frank Mitchell
And third, the players:
Don Birger Dennis Arnold
Jack Darlington Mick Belobraydic
Steve Gauen Bruce Evans
Dennis Pace Mike Vincent
Harry Parker Keith Zeisel
And of course, our 1965 classmates (as well as underclassmen)!! They knew that we knew they were with us Players and Cheerleaders……Sometimes Rowdy…..No, most of the time Rowdy and behind their team all the way!!
I know we need to keep score and that there needs to be winners and losers…That is just the way it is…But I now realize that it is more about the “Journey”….Here we are 50 years from the event we are honoring tonight against a quality rival Quincy that we played twice in 1965 for a margin of victory totaling 4 points.
Quincy fans, make no mistake about it, your 1965 team was also a champion as well….not because of your victory on the court over Collinsville….because that simply did not happen…..but because of the character, integrity and high standards of your coaches and players that represented your community at that time. Nothing but first class.
For some of our classmates the journey I speak about has ended way too soon….as well as for our mentors coaches Virgil Fletcher and Frank Pitol….And for others of us our journey continues and will play out in future years….But there is one constant…something that will never change….that is the Collinsville Kahoks will always be remembered as the State of Illinois 1965 State Basketball Champions!!! And for this there is reason to celebrate. We salute the CHS Class of 1965………………SALUTE!!!
The Ladies of ’65 had their monthly luncheon at Fazzi’s Restaurant and Bar Monday, and as usual, looks like they had fun. Photos were provided by Joyce Weber Ackerman .
Received word today that the Ladies of ’65Christmas Party this year will be on December 10th at 6:00 PM. Classmate Betty Stephens Wilson will be hosting at her home in Highland. You can get additional information, Betty’s address, and all that stuff from Joyce Weber Ackerman. To help prevent spambot emails, I’ll list her email address as below – I think you can figure it out.
jackerman922 /at? gmail ?dot? com
And if you have trouble deciphering her address, send me a note using our “Contact Us” link in the menu, and I’ll send you a private message with the correct address.
Still working on getting all of the photos I have received up on the web. We have been a little “swamped” here in South Carolina in the last few days, and have been a bit preoccupied – but I’ll get them all up as quickly as I can. In the meantime, if you have photos from the reunion (or others) that you’d like to share, send them on to me!
I’ve been notified by two classmates, both using an iPad to access the site, that names and photos are not matching up properly on both the “Deceased” page and the “Autobiographies” page – and perhaps others. I am not seeing the problem on my MSDos PC running Windows 10, so perhaps this is a problem associated only with Apple products. If any of you are experiencing similar problems with the site, please contact me and let me know what type of device you are using, where you notice the problem, and if you know it, the version number of the software running on your device. Bear with me – I’ll try to get this fixed as rapidly as I can.
This problem is being reported on Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini devices (so far). The site appears to work fine on other Apple devices, as well as Android, Windows, etc. If you discover a problem on ANY device please let me know. Thanks.
Here are a couple of videos from our 50th Reunion. The first is of Steve Gauen speaking on Coach Fletcher and his legacy (6 minutes 22 seconds). The second is Jim Seka and recognition of military veterans in the Class of ’65 (10 minutes 26 seconds). The final video is the Kahok cheerleading squad (5 minutes 47 seconds). Hope you enjoy them.
